I took some time, and some advice from Pinterest, and started working on the corner.

Yes, everything has to get messier before it gets cleaner.

And drum roll please....

TA-DA!!!

Would you believe it cost me a whopping $6!?

The small gray and black boxes were at Target for 2.50 for a pack of 2 and I bought a small tray for $1!

I used old shipping boxes I had in my closet (which I plan on covering in paper) after I saw an idea on Pinterest.

I'm not sure I'm in love with it though.

I always do my scrapbooking on my kitchen table and after separating all of my paper by color, it's in too many boxes to carry out there.

I found this idea and I seriously think this is what I'll end up doing, but with 2 carts. Since they're on wheels, I'll be able to just roll them from the room to the table and not even have to unload anything.

December 27, 2011

This may or may not have been the most relaxed Christmas I remember having.

Going into this year I knew that Christmas was going to be different.

I love Christmas.

Love. Love. Love.

Christmas Specials on TV. Giving gifts. Watching other people's expressions as you give them gifts.

Giving presents is my favorite part of the holiday but I knew this year funds were tighter and I couldn't be as obscene with gifts as I normally am.

So instead I just focused on being there.

Maybe I'm a jerk for thinking my presence is a present, but let's be honest, it's not me, it's Emma. :)

It was her first Christmas and it was so amazing, even if she doesn't even understand it yet.

Our Christmas literally lasted the whole weekend.

My brother came home so we had a great get together at Nannie's so everyone could see him, eat some great food and just relax.

The family! Plus Nannie and my very active God-daughter!

... a better view of Emma's ugly cute sweater.

It was a blast and we just laughed the whole night. I love having Nick home and seeing my mom when he's around is just amazing. She just lights up.

Saturday, the hubs picked up some extra hours at work, someone's gotta pay for all those gifts! so Em and I went to mom's so we could see Nick again. We made the rounds at some friends houses.

just eating a candycane. at 6 months old. nbd.

someone will call child services on me for this, I'm sure.

It was a long night but knowing we had big plans on Sunday, we made sure we went home early enough for her to get a good night's sleep. Plus, Santa was coming so we had to get to bed!

This is what we woke up to...

Santa was good to Emmalee!

Even the pups got new beds, new collars and a squeak ball each !

(RIP squeaky balls-- you had a good couple hours)

Em was a big fan of her gifts...

looking a lot like her daddy... :)

Watching her unwrap presents was easily one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

give it back daddy...

Soon after, we packed up and headed back to my mom's for more gifts!

Emmalee got to spend a lot of time with Nicholas!

He made her a blanket, she got books, clothes and an American Girl doll!

And this is what it looked like when we got home and unpacked the car...

We were so so blessed this year and honestly, just spending the weekend with husband and daughter was the most amazing gift I could get. Not that I don't love my new clothes, my new Cricut machine to perpetuate my scrapbooking addiction, beautiful new Vera, my new bracelet and so much more but they are just stuff. Great stuff, but still just stuff.

The best thing I had all weekend was seeing my brother all weekend and spending so much time with the people I love.

December 22, 2011

With Christmas coming up, I know everyone is strapped for cash right now.
(If you've got extra, let me know, I can take some off your hands!)
It's no secret that I am super frugal and I obviously have my secrets buuuut I'm in the mood to share...

These are the websites I use to get free stuff.

I highly suggest you check them out and sign up too!

SWAGBUCKS

This is my favorite one. It's so so simple to earn points either using the toolbar search engine or playing games. You can watch videos and get points for that too! I've already earned gift cards to Amazon, Starbucks, and even Paypal! Yea, legit cash for searching on the web like I already do! I think these points accumulate faster than any other site so it's quicker to cash in for free stuff!

CROWDTAP

I like this one because it's got some great rewards/samples! You do "quicktaps" which give you a quick amount of points. Depending one how many quicktaps you do for a company, you get to earn thier badge and be eleigible for great samples and rewards. A friend of mine got a FREE Old Navy outfit simply because she had their badge on here. Old Navy sent her a coupon for the full purchase price and got new jeans, a sweater and a scarf! I ended up getting the Old Navy badge the next day so I'm hoping I get a good gift in the mail soon!

The nice thing about this site, is that its NOT a point site! Everyday they offer 1 free item (+ $2 shipping) and the selection is always varied! One day its a piece of jewelry, last week they had Cars and Princess dish sets for kids.. so it's always changing. The site updates at noon (EST) everyday with new items. Other than the one free item, there are 8 more at a ridiculously low price. About a month ago, they had a hoodie from Motherhood for $10, it retails for over $40. Plus they have what they call insanity deals. I've never gotten one but my friend Tim did, which sucks because I referred him to the site! But he got a PS3 for $27!!! Jealous doesn't even describe it!!

I actually use this one for David!
Bing doesn't have a ton of rewards yet but they do Microsoft points and XBOX Live time through their rewards. Since David LOVES his XBOX this is an easy way for me to get him time and points on the XBOX without spending money! It has a super convenient toolbar that you can download and you get points for every search, every time you get someone else to sign up for Bing rewards and they are currently offering special daily rewards! Yesterday was a free month of XBOX Live! Yes please!

December 20, 2011

The doctor thinks she is growing perfectly; told us we did a "great job" with her.

Our little trooper had 5, yes 5, shots plus the rotovirus vac today. Poor little thing. And to make it worse, the nurse didn't put her bandaid on well so when I lifted her, it stuck to my jacket and ripped off. :/

We, once again, talked about her head. It's slightly flatter on the back. It's not nearly as bad as it used to be but my biggest fear is that she'll need a helmet. The doctor informed us that it will not be needed.

They only use the helmet if the flattening of the back is affecting the front of her face. Where her face is still "symmetrical", the flat spot is not effecting the growth of her head. Let's all breath a sigh of relief!

She's been a bit fussy today, but it's expected. Additionally, she is super sleepy!

Needless to say, I am capitalizing on her sleepiness and started some Christmas baking!!

I only did the yummy candy types that will stay good in the fridge. I'll save the rest for Thursday night!

December 14, 2011

She decided she liked the month number on the floor more than on herself...

Yes, I think my daughter looks like the Elf on the Shelf...

I feel like she's looking at Santa...

Attempt #2 with the month sticker...

Want to know how to keep Emmalee entertained for 15 minutes....

Give her a sticker and watch her try and pull it off... she was so entertained.

I have officially LOST the monthly sticker war and it looks like they will need to be iron on transfers and not stickers anymore...

Ps. Christmas present idea... Iron on transfer paper... ;)

Otherwise, she's amazing. We'll go for her 6 month check up on the 20th so we'll know all her measurements then...

As of now, she...

- has the greatest squeal/laugh when she's happy

- lifts her arms in the air when I walk by her if she's in her jumper so I'll pick her up

- sits unsupported for a stretch of time but is still a bit wobbly when she gets excited and throws herself back a bit...

- is still working on crawling but her knees are bending more and she's getting closer. She's started going around in circles, she just can't get her belly off the ground... :)

- still screams when we put her in her crib but we've moved her sleeper into her room and she does well in her own room by herself all night.

-has teeth coming in. You can feel them on both the top and bottom but we're not sure how long it will be until they actually pop out.

You:

- love your jumper and will spend all day in it if we let you.

- HATE your car seat when you are getting buckled in but love it after.

-really love the puppies and giggle uncontrollably at them.

- love all the fruits and veggies you've tried since the green bean incident, but peas and peaches are definitely your favorite.

I seriously wish I could just snuggle her all day.

I was looking at older pictures of her, noticing how much her hair has grown, how much lighter it is since she was born, how much her face has changed and how much she's grown.

I'm so proud of her and how well she's developing.

I love that people stop me everywhere we go to tell me how beautiful she is.

I love that even when she cries I laugh because she's just so pathetic sometimes..

And one last thing, you won't care about this unless you did it, are a doctor, or know me but as of today, 6 months and one day, Emmalee is still entirely breastfed! This is huge for me. I wasn't sure I'd be able to nurse past the first couple weeks, let alone 6 months. We're half way to the point where she can drink milk! Like I said, unless you've ever breastfed or understand the amazingness that breastmilk can provide, it's not a huge thing to you, but to me... it's something I didnt think I could do.

So that's it. She's been here for 6 months and I love her more than I ever thought I could. <3